Super-fast wifi now available at John Harvard Library

The public wifi at John Harvard Library on Borough High Street has had a speed boost thanks to the installation of a Gigabit internet connection as part of Southwark Council's partnership with Community Fibre.

Community Fibre uses fibre-optic cables rather than the mix of fibre-optic cabling and copper wire which most internet providers use.

Cllr Stephanie Cryan, Southwark's cabinet member for housing and modernisation, said: "With the internet becoming ever more central to people's lives, from watching TV to paying your bills, it is more important than ever that our residents have access to high-quality, fast and reliable broadband so they can take full advantage of the digital revolution.

"We are pleased to be working with Community Fibre to not only get broadband into people's homes but to places they go to use the internet – like our libraries."

Jeremy Chelot, chief executive of Community Fibre, said: "We are delighted to have worked on this project with Southwark Council. Thousands of people in the UK live in Broadband Poverty. Community Fibre's mission is to remove Broadband Poverty by ensuring people have a local facility, such as the library, where they can access full-fibre broadband for free.

"We're confident that once they realise the opportunities that full-fibre broadband offers they will also want a connection in their own home."

More than a thousand people a month use the public wifi at John Harvard Library which requires a Southwark library card for access.

Earlier this year Southwark Council signed deals with both Hyperoptic and Community Fibre to install high-speed internet connections in council-owned homes and buildings across the borough.